CTIA Wireless Foundation Announces 2022 Finalists in Catalyst Grants Program

WASHINGTON – CTIA Wireless Foundation today announced the six finalists in Catalyst, its competitive grants program accelerating social entrepreneurs using 5G innovations to enhance American communities.

The Foundation’s signature initiative, Catalyst seeks to attract and fund solutions that take advantage of the speed, efficiency and versatility of 5G and leading edge wireless technologies to deepen our connection to one another and make our communities stronger. Catalyst will award over $200,000 in unrestricted grants to this year’s finalists.

“The Catalyst 2022 Finalists are putting the power of 5G to use for good,” said Dori Kreiger, Executive Director of CTIA Wireless Foundation. “We are proud to support work of social entrepreneurs using leading edge wireless technologies to improve our society and change the world for the better.”

The Catalyst 2022 Finalists are:

• curaJOY: An emotional wellness-building app for children and families that integrates Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and gamification with personalized content delivered via 3D avatars. The app was created by two mothers based on their experiences with their severely autistic children.
• KaiXR: Uses AR, VR and XR technologies to enable students to learn and explore beyond classroom walls. KaiXR was developed by a former history teacher for low-income students.
• Keva Health: A digital platform for remote monitoring of patients with chronic respiratory illnesses to reduce hospitalizations and emergency room visits. The platform was developed after the founders’ daughter was diagnosed with asthma.
• OxiWear: An ear-wearable pulse-oximeter for continuous oxygen monitoring and low-oxygen alerting that reduces healthcare costs and increases safety. The technology was developed because of the founder’s personal experience with low oxygen levels and its heart-stopping effects.
• Parrots: An AI-enhanced assistive ‘parrot’ device that gives a smart voice and telecare to people with neurological disorders. Parrots was created by a healthcare engineer who witnessed family members and a mentor struggle with MS and ALS.
• Revere XR: A Virtual Reality experience using immersive storytelling to preserve African American art and culture in communities. RVR was created after the founder experienced a loss of connection to place-based culture, heritage, heroes and traditions due to gentrification.

This year, Catalyst saw record applications, with social entrepreneurs from across the United States applying in the first round. 74% of applicant organizations are led by a member/members of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and 63% of the organizations are led by a person whose gender identity is female.

The six finalists will participate in an invitation-only second round application and three finalists will be selected as winners in fall 2022, with the first-place winner receiving a $100,000 grant, and the second and third place entries receiving $50,000 and $25,000, respectively. Additional finalists will receive honorable mentions and $10,000 grants.

Thank you to our Catalyst 2022 sponsors: Qualcomm, Asurion, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, American Tower, Assurant, Ericsson, Intel, UScellular, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, Wiley, iconectiv, and American Network Solutions.